Monday, February 13, 2012

Never Give Up


from the factory floor
Stadium of Light
Referee: Neil Swarbrick
Sunderland 1-2 Arsenal    11 February 2012
McClean [70]                Ramsey [75]
                                          Henry [90]


There are times when football is pure entertainment, at others a necessary distraction. After the work week leading up to this match, and the last performance versus Blackburn, I was hoping for both.  It seems every available preview made a significant point about the 120 minutes Sunderland played in midweek while we were rested. Nevertheless, I found myself continuing the Star Wars theme from the roll call for this trip to the Stadium of Light. My first thought upon arrival at the Factory was "I have a bad feeling about this." 

First of all, not having a midweek game for a set of about 15 players who have featured almost every match up to this point is not the same as being rested. Second, if any manager knows how to conserve resources, get behind the ball, and counter attack it's Martin O'Neill. Third, our team doesn't need the kind of complacency that we showed based on the assumption that the opponent will be tired. And fourth, there is a much more glamorous tie on the midweek horizon where a trip to the San Siro awaits. This does not a cocktail for a winning Arsenal performance make.